


Pulling

by boxuan



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Fluff, Happy Ending, Romantic Soulmates, Tojo Nozomi - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 09:24:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12032979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boxuan/pseuds/boxuan
Summary: Maki never thought that she would meet her soulmate in a subway. She also never thought that - after they met each other - her soulmate had absolutely no idea that she was Maki’s soulmate.





	Pulling

**Author's Note:**

> Even though I wrote this months ago, I think it will always remain my favorite NicoMaki fic [ of my own fics, of course ] - I put a lot of work in it and love the concept more than anything. Please enjoy!

» For what is known, the first Bonded – commonly called ’soulmates’ - appeared in the year 1XXX. As mysterious letters grew on their hands, palms or wrists at a very young age, they gained a lot of attention after scientists noticed a pattern in the syllables. Finding out that these built so-called Words with one or more person was a huge breakthrough for scientists all over the world and thus, the concept of the Bonded had been officially discovered.

The Words often tell one about the kind of relationship the Bonded have ; to use a popular example,  _earthquake_  could possibly mean that the Bonded may have to endure a lot of problems in their relationship.

In the age of social media, it has gotten a lot easier to meet your Bonding Partner. A great number of Internet users work with facebook, twitter, instagram or similar platforms to spread their Word and to search for their Bonding Partner. This is why the average age of finding one’s Bonding Partner dropped compared to a few decades ago. Now most people between 14 and 18 years find… «

Maki stopped reading. This wasn’t helpful in any way, every children was taught this in elementary school. If she wanted to look up theories about why or how the Words appeared for her biology class, she would have to dig further. She massaged her temples and closed her eyes for a second to relax, just to open them again, peeking at her right wrist. ’m _ag_ ’, it said in pretty, cursive writing. Maki rubbed her wrist to make the pink color disappear, but like the one hundred times before, it didn’t work.

When she was a child, she always looked in excitement at her Word, wondering where her soulmate could be, imagining the words she could put together with her syllable.

When she became 13 years old, the excitement started to fade slowly, and at the age of 16, nothing was left. At this point, sensing that people her age were constantly staring at her arms, their gaze burning on her skin, it felt burdensome. It irritated her that everyone was trying to find their Bonding Partner just for the sake of it. Maki didn’t consider herself a romantic person, but damn, shouldn’t the journey be the reward? Or something like that.

She glanced at her computer clock. 06:38 PM. If she didn’t want to miss the train for her meeting with Nozomi, she had to go now. She stood up, sighing, and grabbed her bag. Before leaving the house, she made sure that her Word was covered by her jacket.

 

* * *

 

While putting her earphones in, Maki went through her favorite playlist. Tchaikovsky’s Lake in the Moonlight started playing, and she put her phone away. Looking for a pole to clasp so she wouldn’t fall, Maki tried to make her way through the crowded subway. Finally, she found a spot near to the now closing doors. As she stood still, trying to hold balance, a girl wearing pig tails and a pink cardigan bumped into her after squeezing her petite body through the already closing subway doors.

“Excuse me”, the girl, who didn’t sound sorry at all, muttered. Maki frowned. She watched her clinging to a near pole - she needed to stand on her toes to reach it. Maki’s mild irritation faded.  _Cute_. Her eyes met hers for a second. Pink Cardigan’s eyes glowed in a strong shade of red and suddenly Maki felt pulled in her direction. Puzzled, she lowered her gaze.

 

_What the hell was that?_

 

Glazing at her shoes – the girl wore two different socks -, Maki waited for her station before she dared to lift her head again. Pink Cardigan picked up her phone, her sleeve slipping down to reveal ’ _netic_ ’ in such a bright shade of red it hurt to look at it.

Maki’s fingers unconsciously found their way to her own wrist, shoving the fabric away. In this very moment, she didn’t care that she was standing in the subway, people all around her – widen eyed, Maki stared at her. Her mind went absolutely blank. The music’s volume, drumming in her ears, reached its peak.

 

_Magnetic._

Maki vaguely noticed that the subway had stopped and people start pushing her away to make their way outside. She didn’t care about what she thought about before, she wanted to meet her now. She needed to. Her movements were hypnotized, her heart was mesmerized.

She desperately tried to reach out for her possible Bonding Partner. Hastily, she pushed the people in front of her away, her heart beating to her fingertips-

Lake in the Moonlight ended on a melancholic note, leaving silence to Maki’s ears.

She was too late. Her soulmate was gone.

She stood at the subway’s entrance hall, and even though there were hundreds of people surrounding her, she never felt more alone than right now.

 

* * *

 

“Nozomi!” Maki let out a curse under her breath after she bumped into the commode in Nozomi’s hall way. Carelessly, she threw her second keys in a corner and hastily hung up her jacket, ignoring Nozomi’s worried “Maki?”.

“You won’t believe what happened to me earlier in the subway!” She limped to the living room without noticing the person sitting next to Nozomi, who looked at her in confusion. “I was-” Maki swallowed the rest of the sentence when she  _finally_  saw her.

This couldn’t be. Her mind must be playing games with her, right? There was no way that this was-

 

“Hi”, Pink Cardigan smirked. “I’m Nico. Nice to meet you.”

 

Maki just stood there, unable to say anything along the lines of “There’s a high chance that you’re my Bonding Partner and maybe we should go on a date or just, you know, marry immediately” to a simple “Hey, what’s up?”. Instead, she pulled her jacket over her right wrist. The spark of hope she felt while seeing Nico’s Word was gone, now she only sensed the old, well-known vulnerability.

After a few moments passed - way too much moments for the whole thing to not become awkward -, Nico looked at Nozomi with a half looped smile. “Is she, like, deaf or something? Geez, you could have told me sooner-”

“No, no, she’s not”, Nozomi hurried up to say after realizing that Maki wouldn’t talk for herself.

“Yeah”, Maki spoke up, voice husky, “I’m-”

Nico - her possible  _soulmate_ , for fuck’s sake -, interrupted her. “Hey, I remember you!” She eyed Maki, whose ears grew red at the intense glaring. “I saw you in the subway! Caught her staring at me like she never saw a pretty girl before”, she said to Nozomi, who chuckled, her hand covering her mouth.

“I wasn’t- staring-”, Maki spluttered.

“Hah, you totally were-”

Nozomi had stopped giggling and gave Nico a warning look that made her shut. Maki took her loose hand gesture as a sign to sit down next to her. When they both stayed quiet – Nico relaxed, Maki tensed -, Nozomi cleared her throat.

“I’m glad that you’re here now, I want to ask you - and Nico - a favor. A rather big one.” She paused for a moment.

“But wait, you wanted to tell me something, right? Before I interrupted you.” Maki’s face went even redder at Nozomi’s polite description of her interrupting, which was just her silently gazing at Nico like a dead fish.

“I, uh… ”, she croaked, trying to think of something that wouldn’t reveal her silly tries to reach out for Nico, “I saw two guys having a fist fight in the subway, so… that’s what I wanted to tell you”, she finished flatly.

 Lying to her twisted Maki’s guts, but she really didn’t want to talk about this issue in front of- well, the issue. Then again, she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to talk about this anytime else.

“So, uh, what’s the favor?” Maki was never happier about changing the subject. Nozomi’s face lighted up. “You and Nico are one of my closest friends, and I cherish the bond between us deeply-”

“Get to the point, Tojo, I still have things to do”, Nico yawned, but grinned right after to express that she was only joking. Nozomi smirked. “Right. So what I want you to do is to help me with a project. Maki’s very good at composing”, she told Nico,

who had put her chin in her hands and listened closely. Maki lost herself in eying Nico’s profile, followed the line of her jawline up to her lips and nose.

“And Nico here is a very skilled singer”, Nozomi continued, not noticing that Maki was spiritually absent. “Geez, stop, I’m already blushing”, Nico said although Maki couldn’t identify any sign of flattery in her face. Nozomi softly squeezed Nico’s

knee to silent her again. Maki couldn’t help to notice that Nico’s legs were long and slender. She turned her head to Nozomi. Her moves felt mechanical.

“Anyway, what I’ve meant to say is”, Nozomi went on, “I want you to write a song together.”

 

The first thing that came to Maki’s mind was  _no_. There was no chance she was going to do this.

 

“Not to doubt your opinion or anything, Nozomi, but how do I know she’s, you know, qualified?” Nico tilted her head in Maki’s direction. Maki could feel the same irritation that bubbled up in her chest on their very first meet rising up in her again.

“I’m very qualified, thank you very much”, she snapped at Nico, forgetting that she originally was ignoring her. Nico didn’t look very impressed.

“You’ll have to trust me”, Nozomi softly said.

 “What do you plan to do with a composed song, anyway?”

For now, Maki decided to keep overlooking Nico and hoping that she wouldn’t see her nervously fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

“Basically, it’s for Otonokizaka. Do you remember the whole school gathering for a meeting last week? In which Principal Minami said a few words about a festival?” - “Vaguely”, Nico hummed.

 Maki’s heart skipped a beat. Nico attended Otonokizaka?  _Her_  school? Nozomi misinterpreted Maki’s horrified expression for a confused one and explained:

“Nico and I are in the same year, but it’s no surprise you didn’t recognize her, she doesn’t participate in clubs and rarely studies, so she doesn’t get any awards she could be known for.”

“I deserve an award for dealing with you”, Nico growled, “why do you like to put me into a bad light in front of every new person I meet?” Nozomi smiled so innocently bright at her Nico flinched. “Alright, alright, let’s just move on. You were saying?”

 

It took all of Maki’s concentration to listen. Her mind spun and her head hurt from the chaos in it.

 

“So, Principal Minami planned to do a festival soon, mainly for middles choolers that are looking for a high school, but also to gain a bit money for the school’s budgets and stuff like that.”

“She said all of this?”, Nico frowned, visibly trying to recall. “No, but I’m in the student council, remember?”, Nozomi snickered. Nico scowled.

“So I would perform on a concert? With her song?” Nozomi hummed in agreement. “You don’t have to decide whether you want to do it right now as there’s still a lot of time”, she explained, looking at Maki, “just make sure to inform Eli when you have-”

“There’s no decision to make, were going to do it!”, Nico beamed and reached out to press Maki’s arm. Maki flinched at the sudden touch. She prayed for her head’s color to stay normal and not to turn into deep red. Nico jumped out of her chair.

“I gotta go now, I still need to go shopping for dinner”, she hugged Nozomi and then turned around to Maki. “I’ll text you later so we can set up a date for a first meeting, alright? Nozomi can give you my number.”

She winked at Maki - oh  _dear_  god - and then closed the door behind her. Maki felt like a tornado stormed through her life, wrecked everything and left after 15 minutes. Nozomi smiled at her and squeezed Maki’s hand.

“She’s something, huh?” Maki didn’t reply. “I know she seems a bit”, Nozomi searched for a fitting adjective, “ _fierce_ , but trust me, she’s a good person.” Maki nodded, not sure if her thoughts about Nico were appropriate for her friend to hear.

“Also, you don’t have to do all of this if you don’t want to. It probably feels like you don’t have any right to decide since Nico is quite the leader, but you do. Think about it carefully and then talk to her about it. Don’t feel pressured to swim with the flow only because she’s a bit dominant.” Dominant was the wrong word, Maki thought,  _pulling_  would be better.

“I should go now, too”, Maki muttered with a dry throat. When she stood up, Nozomi grabbed her hand again. “Maki”, she said earnestly, “is everything okay?” Maki wanted to cry at her honest worries, but instead she just nodded and smiled.

“See you soon, Nozomi.” As she stepped through the door, Nozomi called after her. “I’ll text you later, get home safe!” Maki shut the door and exhaled loudly.

No one was ever going to believe her this.

 

* * *

 

The time between Maki saving Nico as her contact in her phone and their first official work-meeting was, to put it lightly, absolutely horrible. Every time her phone buzzed Maki had to force herself to not jump up immediately to pick up her phone and look who texted her.

When she did, though - after a respectable waiting time of approximately seven minutes - she felt weirdly disappointed when it wasn’t Nico who sent her a message.   
She still spent a lot of time reading their conversation - because when she’s on her phone anyway and drowns in boredom, nothing speaks against scrolling through their chat, right?  
At this point, Maki could recite what Nico’s been texting so far in her sleep.

 

_Maki Nishikino added Nico Yazawa on Line._

**Maki:** Hello, this is Maki. Please tell me when you have time to meet up.

 

**Nico** : are you always this formal? anyway, i only have time after school and singing and dancing class, so im free around 7 in the week, on weekends around 3~

 

**Maki:** You take extra classes?

 

**Nico:** well, yeah, since im becoming an idol. figures, right?

 

**Maki:** I guess.

 

**Nico:** so when do you wanna meet?

 

**Maki:** You can come to my place the day after tomorrow at 7 if it fits for you.

 

**Nico:** yup, sounds great  
 **Nico** : can you send me the address?

 

After Maki did, Nico didn’t reply. She didn’t want to bother Nico once more to ask her if she got her message, so she just hoped that Nico would arrive without problems.

At 4:15 PM Maki came home from school. She was more or less relaxed since she still had one hour and 45 minutes until seven o'clock. Definitely enough time to prepare everything.

At 5:00 PM Maki became a bit nervous - but still enough time to think about how they should proceed (and how she could avoid being physically close to her).

At 6:00 PM Maki had done nothing productive. She spent her time sitting in front of a blank paper and thinking about whether Nico was singing or dancing right now.

At 6:50 PM Maki told herself to just “fuck it” and improvise. She couldn’t have felt more hysterical.

 

When the door bell rang, Maki’s heart dropped. She took her time to breathe in and out slowly before opening the door.

“Are you a princess or something?”, Nico snorted and stomped past Maki into the house. Maki swallowed a sarcastic comment (“Welcome, come in, oh no, it’s totally okay to wear your shoes inside”) and closed the door behind her. “So, do you want to drink something?” She made an awkward hand gesture to make Nico sit down. “Yeah, thanks.”

The uncomfortable silence between them kept making Maki’s heart beat through her whole body. “Where are you parents, by the way?”, Nico spoke up after putting down her now empty glass.

“Shouldn’t they, I don’t know, be all excited about their child bringing someone home?”

“I didn’t- bring- are you always like this?” Maki was completely thrown off the track. Nico raised an eyebrow. “Like what, exactly?”

“Like, you know-” Maki waved her hand around, hoping that Nico would understand what she meant without her speaking it out loud. She didn’t. “Gorgeous? Stunning? Absolutely-”

“Cocky”, Maki ended. Nico grunted. 

“That was most definitely not what you were thinking about, but alright, I’ll let it slide this time.”

 

Maki was already exhausted. Not only that she was insecure about what she should feel towards this girl, her personality seemed to clash with hers all the time. “Do you wanna start with composing now?”

Again, the look in Nico’s eyes made Maki feel like she had no choice at all. “Yeah, let’s get started.” Maki hurried to lead Nico to their music’s room (mainly so she wouldn’t stare at Nico like an idiot).

“I can’t believe you have a room dedicated to instruments”, Nico said, her voice echoing in the hall-like room. Maki watches her brushing over a Cello so lightly it looked almost reverent. “That’s one from Stradivari and its about 300 years old”, Maki commented flatly in an attempt to be funny, but Nico pulled her hand back like it suddenly stung her. “Are you for real?” Maki noticed Nico’s expression changed into something she couldn’t quite identify, and abruptly she was weirdly aware of her parents’ wealth.

“Um, anyway”, she muttered, “yeah, let’s start.”

She sat down on the stool in front of her grand piano when she realized Nico was still standing. “Oh, sorry, I’ll get you another chair-” Nico pressed Maki, who stood up already, down to her stool again and squeezed her body beside hers. “Don’t worry about it”, she casually said.

“Alright”, Maki said, trying to sound as casual (failing terribly). “What do you want the song to be about?” Nico hummed. “I haven’t really thought about it yet, but I guess something lively and bubbly would be nice, don’t you think?”

“So no deep lyrics”, Maki stated. Nico looked strangely offended.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It kind of is, though, isn’t it?”, Maki stared at the piano keys in front of her. “Music is supposed be meaningful and to make you feel something.”

“Happiness is a feeling, too.”

“Is that why?”, Maki blurted out. Nico lifted her head to look her in the eyes. “Hah? Why what?”

“Its that why you want to be an idol? To make others happy?”

 

Nico smirked.

“Ten out of ten, Nishikino. Living from people’s smiles sounds just amazing to me.” Maki glared at her. Nico looked so satisfied with her plan, her future idea, it made Maki feel fuzzy inside. Nico smiled brightly at her - Maki flushed at the sight of a smile this honest.

“What about you? What do you want to do in the future?”

The fuzzy feeling inside her chest vanished. “I’m becoming a doctor, I guess”, Maki said. Nico frowned and turned her upper body to her, forgetting the piano in front of them.

“You don’t seem very content about that.”

Maki cringed. “Well… my parents own the hospital and I’m their only child, so…” She bit on her lip, but stopped when she saw Nico’s piercing look. “It’s okay, I’ve been studying a lot and I don’t want to be that wasted, also..”

Maki stopped because even she heard how pathetic this sounded. “You shouldn’t do anything you don’t want to”, Nico spoke up. “In general, but especially on something you will be involved with your whole life.”

 

“Does that count for soulmates, too?”

 

Maki froze on what slipped through her lips. Nico did, too, but smirked awkwardly after. “I guess. Haven’t meet her yet.”

“Still, that’s a good philosophy-”

“I don’t want to, you know”, Nico suddenly interrupted her. Maki stared at her. “What?”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong”, Nico was the one biting her lip now, and by the way she fiddled with her fingers Maki suddenly realized she had never told this anyone. “Some day I want to, but not right now”, Nico muttered. “I just don’t want the universe to choose my life partner, you understand?”, she said quietly. “I want to meet them in a random place, hell, I don’t know, maybe a bar.” Or a subway, Maki thought.

“Look, I know I probably sound edgy and like a rebellious teenager right now, but- do you understand?”

A week ago - hell, two  _days_  ago - Maki would have. Now, as her soulmate was next to her, her thigh touching hers, she didn’t understand anymore. “I do”, she lied.

“I don’t believe you.” Nico raised an eyebrow.

“That’s your problem”, Maki said through gritted teeth.

 

She had never met someone this  _annoyingly_  blunt. “If you don’t get it, just say so”, Nico said, ignoring Maki’s comment. “Fine”, she inhaled sharply, “I don’t get it. If you know the universe’s got someone you will love eternally, why wouldn’t you to want to meet them as fast as possible?”

Nico stared at her.

“Do you?”

Maki blinked. “Do what?”

“Do you do everything possible to meet _the one_?”

Maki didn’t answer at first. This conversation led to a direction she didn’t like at all. “No”, she eventually responded.

“That’s pretty hypocritical, you know”, Nico smirked. “Giving me advice and not following it.”

Maki turned away from her and laid her hands on the piano. “Let’s just start, we already wasted enough time.”

“No, we’re not done here”, Nico frowned and brushed Maki’s hand. She stiffened.

“Everyone acts like meeting their soulmate is already the ending while it’s only the beginning”, Maki muttered after a small pause, not looking at her. “There’s a reason it’s called a Bonding Partner, you need to fucking bond first.”

Nico looked at her earnestly - and then burst into laughter. “I can’t believe you cursed, that’s so cute”, she giggled. Maki, offended at first, grinned soon after and chuckled too, relieved they curved the risky topic.

Nico laid her head onto Maki’s shoulder. Maki stretched her back. “You know what, Nishikino?”, Nico said, sounding sleepy. “You’re alright. We should do something soon. Like, as friends.” Maki’s heart jumped.

“Sounds great, Yazawa.”

 

* * *

 

Maki turned around until she heard Nico saying, “Nishikino! Here!” Maki blinked when Nico ran up to her. “Hi”, she grinned, a little bit out of breath, and Maki smiled back. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go!” Nico grabbed her hand and pulled her to the first booth - Ballon pop. While Maki aimed terribly – Nico kept distracting her through grimaces and light tackles -, Nico even won a small stuffed animal (a cute panther).

“You can have it”, Nico said patronizingly after showing off for ten minutes. “Thanks.” Maki hid her face behind it so Nico wouldn’t see her red face, but of course she did anyway. She giggled.

“Hey, when we’re getting to the arcade, I’ll win something even bigger for you!” Nico held her word. Watching her dancing to expert mode - jumping, quick hip thrusts and wiggling - made Maki almost sweat, too. When she bounced off stage, already receiving her price, she hugged Maki tightly.

“What was that for?”, Maki mumbled, carefully laying her chin on Nico’s head, while Nico folded her hands behind Maki’s back and pulled her closer. “Just felt like it.” They stood like this for a moment – was it her or Nicos heart that beat that fast? - until Maki whispered, “Nico?”

Nico looked up to her, cheeks red from dancing. “Yeah?”

“You smell.” Nico pushed her away and gasped. “I don’t!” Maki laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. “Why are you surprised? You’re sweating.”

“I gave my best for you on the dance floor and that’s how you thank me?”, she pouted. “That’s really mean, Maki!”

“What do you want, then? As a ’thank you’?”, Maki pressed her lips together as if that would take her slipped out words back. “What would you be willing to give?” Nico’s voice was husky. Maki bit on her lips. They cleanly passed the line between casual friends-talk and not so casual flirting and she didn’t know how to deal with it. At all.

“Here”, she pulled a five yen coin out of her pocket and showed it to Nico. “Let’s get some cotton candy, shall we?” She didn’t wait for a response, instead she stomped in the direction she assumed a cotton candy booth would stand. She didn’t see Nico’s torn expression.

Eating pink cotton candy, they walked through the amusement park in silence. Maki was thrown back to their first meeting at her home - the tensed silence had turned to a comfortable one in the five weeks they’ve been knowing each other.

“Are you wearing jewelry, Nishikino?”, Nico gasped in faked shock and grabbed her hand. She turned Maki’s hand in hers and looked at the golden ring. “It’s pretty.”

“Thanks.” Maki knew Nico didn’t care about her ring, she just wanted an excuse to hold her hand. She already know because Nico kept doing this since their first cinema visit, and then in the zoo, and also in the endless cafés they’ve been to. She wasn’t complaining, though. Nico’s hand was always warm and dry and she always drew circles with her thumb on Maki’s skin. It was incredibly nice. Maki loved it.

“Where do you wanna go next?”

“Are you afraid of heights?”

 

 

Maki clang to the Ferris wheel’s pole until her knuckles turned white. “Everything alright?” Nico sounded way too smug. “Yeah”, Maki said through gritted teeth. When Nico turned her hand to the other side to admire the sight, Maki closed her eyes and prayed that it would be over soon.

 

  
“It’s your turn to decide”, Nico said when Maki carefully stepped out of the cart. Stretching herself so her shaking hands and trembling legs wouldn’t be noticed as much, she acted like she was thinking about it - while she exactly knew what they would do next. She grinned at Nico.

“Are you afraid of haunted houses?”

 

 

“That joke was really lame, you know?”, Nico groaned, her voice echoing. “I’m probably going to break my legs in here, it’s so dark!”

“Then just don’t slip”, Maki said flatly. This was one of her not so well thought-through ideas as she was probably as much afraid as Nico was right now. 

“Wow, what kind of advice, what would I do without you, N-” Nico screamed when something touched her face. Maki flinched. “Oh, fuck it”, Nico muttered and hold on to Maki’s arm.

“You made me do this, so you can suffer as well.”

Maki scoffed even though Nico couldn’t see her.

“Do you think we could go the way we came from and just leave?”, Maki asked and breathed in sharply when a clown-mask popped up in front of her. “We could always try.” Nico’s voice didn’t sound as confident as usual. “Yes, let’s do that-”

They turned around and looked into what looked like an pitch black abyss. “Or let’s just head to the exit quickly?” They sneaked through the haunted house, constantly afraid of what could be lurk behind veils. When they entered a new room, the light went back on. Suddenly both of them were extremely aware of how close they were - and let go of each other.

“This is gross”, Maki shivered and tried to focus on the floor, the only thing that wasn’t drowned in fake blood. “Yeah, it kinda-” Nico squeaked when suddenly a girl with nasty cuts on her throat and arms shambled towards them.

“If i was you I would try to leave”, she growled, “otherwise you’ll get killed soon.” Nico and Maki exchanged a quick look.

 

“Run?”

“Run.”

 

They grabbed each other’s hand and started sprinting past the actor. When other artists came, they squealed and ran faster until they arrived at the exit. Nico panted and Maki leant on her knees to catch some breath. “I’m glad we’re out of this”, Nico breathed out and Maki snorted. “Yeah, me too.”

Nico picked up her phone to check if she had new messages. Maki caught herself staring at her wrist, which was well covered by Nico’s cardigan, just as all the times they met before. In a weird way, it was funny. They both hid their Words and agreed to keep it this way without talking about it. Nico didn’t know Maki’s Word, but Maki knew hers.

“Eli said they’re on their way”, Nico said, not looking up from her phone. “But it’ll take some time until they arrive, wanna do one last attraction?”

 

 

Maki wrung out the hem of her shirt and shook her head. Little water drops rained onto the ground. “Have I already told you that I hate water rides?”

“Just about a hundred times.” For some reason Nico - who stayed completely dry during the whole ride - avoided eye contact with Maki. Rather she seemed to stare at-

Maki blushed and turned around to untie her jacket from her hips. “Bad day for a white shirt, huh?”, Nico smirked, but the comment lacked her usual confidence. “Oh, fuck off”, Maki muttered, slipping into her jacket and closing the zip.

“Where are Eli and the others?” Nico seemed like she wanted to overcome this quickly, too. “I think they’re right-” A girl with orange hair stormed to them and hugged Nico, who almost fell. “Around the corner”, Nico closed. “Geez, you gained some weight, didn’t you, Honoka?” Honoka pouted. “We came all the way for you and that’s how you great me? That’s rude!”

Nozomi walked up towards them, Kotori and Umi next to her. Rin, Hanayo and Eli followed. Nozomi smiled at Maki.

“So, what are we going to do?”, Umi asked. Rin squeezed Hanayo’s hand. “Do you have a suggestion?” Hanayp looked flustered. “Let’s go eating something first?”, she asked, her statement sounding like a question. “That’s a great idea!” Rin ruffled Hanayo’s hair. “Eli and I ate in a really good Indian restaurant a week ago”, Kotori spoke up. “Indian sounds nice”, Nico said and so it was decided.

 

Maki looked out of the window. The streets were dipped in dimmed light as the sun was just going down. “It’s pretty, right?” Maki turned to Nico, who gazed in the same direction. “Yes”, she said quiet, not wanting to draw the others attention to them.

Honoka was discussing something about the food with Rin and Hanayo, Nozomi showed Umi something on her phone and Eli and Kotori were looking for a dessert they could share later. Nico smiled at her. Her eyes were glowing in the warm light.

“Hey, it’s your turn now”, Nico remembered. “It was my idea to go to the amusement park.”

“Your turn with what?”, Honoka, who sat to Nico’s right, interfered. Maki glanced at Nico, unsure how to explain their rather unique agreement to choose different locations for meetings alternately. Nico understood. “That’s none of your business!”, she scolded Honoka. Maki covered her mouth so Honoka wouldn’t see her laughing.

Nico grinned at Maki when Honoka didn’t look her way. Maki smiled back. A moment later, when Honokas attention was already on something else, Maki mouthed to Nico:“ Let’s go stargazing next time.”

Nico beamed.

 

* * *

 

“Maki, are you ready? The limousine is waiting.”

“Yes, Mama, just a minute”, Maki cursed under her breath and hastily brushed her hair. It only looked worse. “Oh, damn it-” Maki grabbed an old shirt as a provisional rag for the just pushed over nail polish. The deep red looked like blood on her desk.

“Maki, we really need to leave now!”

“Yes!” Helpless, Maki watched the liquor drip to the floor. She would just take care of this later. She hurried down the stairs to her parents. Her father was frowning, probably irritated about her being late. Maki quickly adjusted her dress. “Can we go now?”

“Yes”, Maki muttered and entered the car.

 

Maki blinked and lowered her head right after they entered the hospital and most pictures had been taken. She checked for the tenth time if her gloves still covered her Word (they did).

She had escorted her parents to events like this since she could walk on her on, but this was something different, something more grand than usual. It was the Nishikino hospital’s 100th anniversary, so Maki assumed the press’s attention was going to focus on her, the “heir”.

Even though Maki knew what she was supposed to say - “I will take over the Nishikino company gladly when the time comes”, “I will become a great doctor”, “I will make my parents proud” -, she was nervous. Her thoughts switched to Nico all the time. Maki would be calmer if she was next to her, making her usual stupid comments.

Her mother grabbed Maki’s shoulder. “The reporters want to talk to you in ten minutes, prepare yourself”, she said. Instead of looking at her, she smiled at the cameras. “Yes.” Maki straightened her back. She fiddled with the clasp of her clutch when it suddenly start vibrating.

Maki turned her back to the cameras - her mother would scold her for this, for sure - and fiddled her phone out of the bag. “Nico? The timing is a bit bad right now, I’m-”

“I need you”, Nico interrupted her, sounding stressed. Maki frowned - another scolding. “What? What’s wrong?” Nico cursed. “I need to pick up my brother from kindergarten, but- hey, don’t do that- my sister’s sick, she has a fever and won’t stop crying- can you come over and look after her while I get my brother?” Nico sounded really desperate. Maki’s throat was dry. “Nico..”

 

“Maki,  _please_.”

 

Maki hesitated. “I’m there in ten minutes”, she hung up without waiting for a response.

“Mama? Papa? I’m sorry, but I am leaving. A… friend needs me. Right now.” She ignored her mother’s aghast and her father’s angry expression and hurried towards the exit. She also ignored the reporters taking pictures of her.

“Miss Nishikino! Where are you heading?”

“Are you meeting a lover? Or a soulmate?”

 

Maki froze for a moment but kept walking. The only thing that mattered right now was Nico.

 

 

When she started knocking on Nico’s door, it already swept open.

“She can take her meds again in half an hour, they’re on the kitchen table. Change the wet rag on her forehead when it gets dry again, and if you need to eat something, there’s still left overs in the fridge.” Nico paused, trying to remember if she forgot something.

“If you need anything, call me. I need to go now.” She took Maki’s face in her hands and gave her a hasty kiss on the cheek. “I owe you one, Maki", Nico said and smiled at her. Then she was gone.

Maki touched her cheek all the time until Nico came back.

 

* * *

 

“You don’t have to pay, you know”, Maki said while Nico was already whipping out her wallet. “Don’t be ridiculous, you helped me out yesterday, I’m just trying to do you a favor.”

Maki didn’t response to that. “I hope you weren’t doing something important? Didn’t really let you talk”, Nico muttered. Maki thought of the headlines, such as “Nishikino heir ditches anniversary gala” and “Has she had enough? Maki Nishikino storms away from parents’ most important event” and hoped that Nico didn’t read the newspaper. 

“No, I was just studying.”

Nico breathed out, relieved. “Good.” She received the tickets for the planetarium and showed them to Maki. “Wanna go?”

 

 

“This is… really magical”, Nico whispered.

“Isn’t it?” Maki turned her head to Nico. The stars reflected on Nico’s eyes. “I think”, Maki paused, “this is my favorite thing to do.”

  
Nico gazed at Maki. “Maybe you could study astronomy.”

Maki adjusted her arm chair to avoid looking at her. “I’m studying medicine.”

 “Maki.. ” Nico’s voice was husky. “We talked about this when we were at your place, remember? And we didn’t know each other well enough to talk seriously but now we do and-” Nico took a big breath.

“I don’t think you should become a doctor.” Maki stared at her. “What?”

Nico looked more stern than usual. Maki realized she wanted to talk about this for a while.

“You’re not happy”, Nico whispered, “at all. And you haven’t even started and- I don’t- I just don’t want to see you breaking, do you understand?”

“Can’t we talked about this another time?” Stargazing always had been a way to escape, and now her problems clinged to her skin like a nasty smell. She felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“Please, Maki.” Maki looked in Nico’s glowing, pulling eyes. “Please be happy.”

 

* * *

 

Visiting Akihabara in the afternoon on a Saturday wasn’t Maki’s best idea. She made a grimace and pushed her way through the crowd. After all it took some time to get there, she could just get this done and get Nico this idol DVD box she had eyed for a while but never bought.

She smiled at the thought of gifting Nico something. Technically, they had never done this before - sure, Nico sometimes payed for her cake when they ate in a café or in a restaurant and yes, Maki sometimes payed for their cinema tickets - but they never gave each other meaningful, with love stuffed presents. Which was why Maki was keen to be the first to do it.

 

“Thank you, but this isn’t what I was looking for”, she bowed towards the shop assistent and smiled apologetically. “I hope you find something for your Bonding Partner, come back soon!” Maki flushed. She never told the assistent that she wanted to purchase a present for a soulmate - she didn’t even talk about a gift. Did the soft care in her eyes (that seemed to pop up only when she was thinking about Nico) revealed her intentions?

“Goodbye”, she muttered and stepped out of the shop. While she was already eyeing another shop with A-RISE, a popular idol group, on its windows, her phone vibrated. When she wanted to accept the call - Nico? Wasn’t she in class right now? -, she already hung up.

Maki turned her back to the street and dialed Nico’s number, putting a finger in her ear since her surroundings were quite loud. She pressed the phone closer to her head.

“Nico? Can you hear me? Sorry, it’s so noisy here-”

“Yeah”, Nico’s voice was hollow. Maki hoped it’s tinny sound sprang from the phone’s connection and not from Nico. “What’s the matter? You got me all worried-”, Maki’s forced laughter died immediately when Nico cut her off.

 

“I think I found my soulmate, Maki.”

 

Maki froze. “What?” Her voice broke.

“I.. there’s a girl and her Word fits with mine.” Nico still sounded pressed.

Maki didn’t know how to react. This felt like a really, really bad dream.

“But.. that doesn’t mean she’s your soulmate”, Maki heard herself saying. She wondered if Nico could hear her voice drowning in desperation. “I mean, it could be coincidence, right?”

“Could be”, Nico paused and took a long breath, “but also couldn’t be. That’s why I’m meeting her later and-”

 

“I’m your soulmate.“

 

Time stopped. As much as it felt like detoxification, it also felt like swallowing new poison. Maki’s finger knuckles turned white from tensing. “Nico? Have you heard what I said?”

“I.. have to go”, Nico finally said. 

Maki sobbed at her emotionless response, and whimpered: “Please, Nico, say- something-”

Nico hang up.The sudden silence on the phone turned to white noise filling her head. Maki shut her eyes and tried to breathe in and out slowly so she wouldn’t hyperventilate. It didn’t work.

She dialed Nico’s number – she needed three attempts to hit the right numbers because of her blurry vision and shaky hands -, and held it to her ear. It went immediately to her mailbox.

“Hey, Maki!” Maki quickly wiped over her eyes and turned around. “Nozomi, what are you doing here?” When Maki wanted to return Nozomi’s smile, it vanished. “Why have you been crying?” Maki just loosely waved her hand around as a response because even if she wanted to answer, she couldn’t. Nozomi took a step towards her and pulled her into a hug. Maki pressed her head into Nozomi’s neck

 “It’s going to be okay”, Nozomi whispered, stroking Maki’s back. “It’s alright.” But Maki knew it wasn’t. She lost the person she loved the most and, what was worse, it was all her fault.

 

* * *

 

Tired, Maki opened the door. The lights were turned off, so her parents probably still were in the hospital. She slipped out of her shoes, hung her jacket on a chair and sat down, listening to the clock’s ticking. What now? She buried her face in her hands.

Ironically, this felt similar to when she first met Nico. She couldn’t focus on anything, her thoughts were blowing up in her mind. Her body felt like it was run over by a truck.

Maki peeked through her hands and stared at the white wall. A tear ran down her cheek and dropped on her arm.

 

Even though they didn’t share a typical Bonded relationship, Nico still was the best thing that ever happened to Maki.

She never had this much fun with any other person before, and even when she was afraid - was it of haunted houses or of the future-, Nico never had let go of her hand to make sure she was safe.

Maki had never felt this unsafe before, now that she knew Nico was-

 

Someone knocked multiple times and Maki flinched. She stood up and shuffled to the door. “Hello?”, she muttered, not looking at the visitor, until they growled:“ What the  _hell_  do you think you’re doing, Nishikino?”

Maki’s head rose abruptly until she met Nico’s eyes.

“Nico”, Maki whispered.

“No,  _no_  Nico, we have to talk right now-” Nico’s fist flew up and grabbed Maki’s collar, crumbling the texture. Maki didn’t dare to breathe in front of Nico’s furious, very close face.

“You never said one word to me”, she hissed, “in all those weeks I was in love with you and you never told me anything-” She started crying now, just like Maki did. Maki sobbed so hard she barely could understand what Nico was saying.  _Love?_

“I told myself that this would never work out and that it’s not meant to be and-” Nico’s sentence ended in a sob, and she looked Maki in the eye. Her glow was stronger than ever. “Maki”, she let go of her collar and sobbed, “I-”

Maki pulled Nico in a hug. Her nose was running, her eyes red and her lip trembling.

  
An hour ago, when she hugged Nozomi, she was at her worst. Now, hugging Nico, she was at her best.

 

They let go of each other. Nico rubbed her shaking thumb over Maki’s cheek. Maki reddened, and Nico giggled through a stuffy nose.

 

“Nico?”

“Yes?”

“Can I kiss you?”

 

Nico blinked - and flushed, too. “You may.”

 

When Maki finally,  _finally_  kissed her, Nico stood on her toes. Maki pulled her closer, her hands on Nico’s back.

 

“I love you”, she muttered against Nico’s lips.

“I love you too, Maki.”

 

 

They stayed up all night, bodies close and hearts closer.

When Maki told Nico about everything that went through her mind these past weeks, she shed a lot of tears, but it was alright, because Nico kissed her softly to make up every single one.

 

Maki blinked and stretched carefully so Nico wouldn’t wake up. The sun was just rising. Nico’s eyes were closed, but Maki was sure that they were glowing right now, even if she couldn’t see them.

Nico was by her side.

In the end, everything was alright.

 

* * *

_epilogue_

* * *

 

 

 

“I still can’t believe you named our song after our Word.” Nico scoffed in Maki’s direction. “It’s meaningful! What’s wrong about That’s Unfair Magnetic Today?”

Maki gruntled. “It’s like you want the whole world to know about our Word.”

“My, my, we’re thinking big, aren’t we? Right now, the only people that will hear this song are future Otonokizaka students. Besides”, she ran her hand through Maki’s hair and grinned. “I want everyone to know that you’re already taken.”

“Shouldn’t that be my worry? I’m not the one finding people with fitting Word combinations all the time!” Nico pouted.

“You know, you should probably be glad about Frenetic. If she wasn’t, maybe you still wouldn’t have confessed.”

“What are you saying, you were the one to confess first!”

“I wasn’t, you totally were-”

 

Nozomi opened the door to the makeup studio. “Are you guys finished? The audience is waiting!”

Maki turned around to Nico. “I also can’t believe you made me go on stage with you.”

“Come on, Nishikino, it’ll be fun! I’m with you, remember?” Maki smiled.

“Yeah.” Nico took Maki’s face in her hands and gave her one last kiss.

 

“Ready?”

 

“Ready.”

 

“Then let’s go!”

 

* * *

 

_Maki Nishikino (23), astronomer at NAOJ, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, recently made a great stir when she got married to the nation’s idol Nico Yazawa (25). After they entered into the bond of marriage, a grand party was held, which a total of over 400 guests attended. Due to business reasons both women keep their surname, but in private they’re called Mrs and Mrs Yazawa._

_We asked Maki Nishikino if being refered as Nico Yazawa’s wife rather than as a successful astronomer irritates her._

_“Not at all!”, she said, laughing, “I’m very proud of what my wife has accomplished so far, and I’m madly in love with her. There’s no place for such things as envy or insecurity.”_

_And how did she deal with cutting ties with her parents?_

_“We did in fact not cut ties, even though the wedding was the first time we’ve met in years. But we’re on good terms now.”_

_Now?_

_She hesitates. “My parents and I had some issues to solve when I was younger, but thanks to Nico they’re all gone. She helped me overcome them. All in all, I’m a better person because of her.”_

_Mrs Nishikino laughs again._

_We congratulate Nico Yazawa and Maki Nishikino to their wedding and to their beautiful Word “Magnetic”!_

_P.S.: Mrs Nishikino hinted that they have something great planned. So, who knows? Maybe we will hear about the two lovebirds soon. Stay tuned!_


End file.
